Hair dressing compositions of various forms have been used to alter the appearance and physical properties of human hair. Compositions have been proposed and have been commercially available which are directed to improving one or more hair properties such as curl retention, manageability, and mechanical strength which are commonly desired in the beautification of the hair.
It is well known that hair texture varies with the individual. This variation can be characterized as ranging from coarse, thick hair to the other extreme of fine, limp hair. In attempts to style various hair textures, great difficulties have been encountered due to these variations of texture and to the lack of manageability of the hair to retain the styles given. Hair that has been over-processed by various chemical treatments, as for instance by tinting, bleaching, straightening and the like, for a number of times usually is damaged and no longer retains the style which is desired. The damaged hair has lost body, and normally hangs limp and does not have good appearance.
Many conditioners have been proposed, but few of them function to increase both the curl retention and the mechanical properties such as strength, elasticity, etc., of the hair. Treatment of the hair to improve both mechanical properties and curl retention has been suggested by the use of compositions containing glyoxal alone or condensation products of glyoxal which are polymerizable. These materials have the disadvantage of causing color shifts in previously dyed or bleached hair and, therefore, are unacceptable.